LINDA SHOEMAKER: Don't buy lie that Dems are socialists

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Last month Russ Duerstine wrote, "my lifelong goal was to see the extinction of the national Democratic Party, or the socialist wing that has controlled it since 1972."

The two-party system of Democrats and Republicans, before the Republican Party became so extreme, served us well for many years. One side pulled to the left, the other to the right. We were assured that all viewpoints were heard. The final outcome was near the middle.

Wonderful leaders from both parties worked for the common good. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provides a perfect example. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., and Everett Dirksen, R-Ill. It was signed into law by Democrat Lyndon Johnson.

This could not happen in today's uncivil environment. Republicans appointed to the debt reduction "super committee" already have stated unequivocally they will not allow any revenue increases. They consider compromise a dirty word. Their idea of the "common good?" Raise as much money as possible from special interest groups, get re-elected and reward their friends.

Look at Rick Perry. He campaigned for governor touting Texas' strong economy and insisted repeatedly he would not run for president. His "showcase" legislative session began. We learned the last budget had not been fully funded, despite Perry using $12 billion in federal stimulus money. The Republican-dominated Legislature chose to cure that shortage by using Rainy Day funds.

Attention turned to the new budget and we saw the "Texas miracle" was a hoax. The Legislature, virtually controlled by Perry, faced a $27 billion budget shortfall. Will teachers, board members and administrators who voted for Perry continue to support someone who balances the budget by crippling public education?

Should Perry take personal credit for jobs created by oil and gas resources beneath our Texas soil? Does his "jobs" boasting take into account that Texas has the highest percentage of hourly workers earning minimum wage or less, and our median household income has fallen to 47th in the nation?

Back to Duerstine's claims: It is the great lie that, if repeated often enough, becomes truth. President Obama is not a socialist. I am not a socialist. The child of a World War II veteran, I was 18 months old when Daddy came home. We moved to Tennyson, where he did dryland farming with two brothers.

The early 1950s drought forced us to move to San Angelo. Daddy went to night school while working various jobs, passed the Civil Service exam and got a job with the post office. Mother worked as a bookkeeper. They sent me to North Texas State as a music major. I worked hard in a work-study program and also in a dry cleaners, tagging laundry and ironing shirts in an oven-hot room.

My parents saw two of their children receive college degrees. Mother had quit high school when she owned only one dress. She worked in a New Deal child care program. After a year, she returned to school and graduated. New Deal programs were not socialism. They were crucial to survival during the Depression. We received a "hand up" when available, but no "handout." Obama's stimulus programs are not socialism and they saved us from catastrophe.

The biggest recipients of welfare today are the wealthy, who receive huge tax breaks, amass piles of money, send jobs overseas and are destroying the American economy. So long as they continue to make do with fewer workers instead of adding new jobs, our unemployment rate will not go down.

Another horrifying threat to our economy is Perry being elected president. While slashing public programs in Texas, Perry awarded cronies with millions of our tax dollars in grants, tax breaks, contracts and appointments. Houston businessman Dan Friedkin contributed $250,000 in April to the Republican Governors Association, chaired by Perry. This nonprofit group has been Perry's top benefactor during his 10 years as governor.

Perry recently named Friedkin chairman of Texas Parks & Wildlife. Texas law prohibits officeholders from receiving contributions during a legislative session. So while chairing RGA, Perry has raised millions of dollars that will be donated back for his presidential race.

If you don't realize how extreme Perry has become, read his recent book in which he says, "Social Security is unconstitutional and a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal." Also, think back. When did you ever hear Rick Perry mention religion? Only when he needs the votes of evangelicals does he suddenly become a born-again Christian. Such hypocrisy leads me to observe that Perry should avoid being anywhere near a lightening storm.